Spotting spoon



Sept. 7, 1954 J. D. BOWEN 2,688,243

SPOTTING SPOON Filed April 20, 1953 INVENTOR (lo/'27! flfiowen A BY 2 Q 2 Z ATTORNEY? Patented Sept. 7, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SP OTTING SPOON John D. Bowen, Ajo, Ariz.

Application April 20, 1953, Serial No. 349,604

2 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to a spotting spoon provided with means for applying a suitable chemical cleaning fluid to material such as a garment or the like, for removing spots or stains. Heretofore it has been customary for dry cleaners to use a bone scraper to work on spots with various chemicals. In such an operation it was necessary for the operator to hold the garment on a spotting board with his elbow, while holding the bone scraper in one hand and eye dropper containing the cleaning fluid in the other hand.

An important object of the present invention is to provide a simple, efiicient, and economical spotting spoon so designed that it can be dipped into a bottle containing the cleaning fluid so as to pick up a few drops without requiring the use of an eye dropper or the like. The bottom and sides of the bowl preferably are provided with ribbed or corrugated surfaces for coacting with the chemical to remove rough or heavy spots from the material. Additionally the handle of the spoon may be provided with a reservoir or pipette for carrying a reserve of the liquid chemical where more than a few drops are required to clean the material or fabric.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying claims and drawings.

Referring to the drawings wherein is shown preferred embodiments the invention may assume.

Figure l is a side elevation of a spotting spoon constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a plan view of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a bottom plan view of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view taken substantially along line 4il of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 5--5 of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a plan view of a modified form of the invention.

Figure 7 is a longitudinal sectional View taken substantially along the line 1-? of Figure 6, and

Figure 8 is a detail perspective view of the spoon shown in Figure 1 inserted in a container for receivingthe cleanin fluid.

Referring to the drawings, I0 indicates a spotting spoon which may be formed of any suitable light durable material, such as plastic or the like, so as to be capable of withstanding the use to which a device or tool of this character is normally subjected. The spoon I0 has the usual handle H and the concave bowl ii. The bowl i2 is tapered or curved so as to be provided at its forward end with a tip it having a longitudinally and centrally disposed slot or cutout portion i4 that provides a discharge passage for a purpose subsequently to be described. The upper surface 55 of the bowl is formed with a recess or cup portion it which communicates with a slot or passage Hi for facilitatin the discharge of the fluid or chemical detergent from the bowl during the cleaning operation. A. longitudinally and centrally disposed groove or channel H is also formed in the upper curved surface it of the bowl (Fig. 2) and communicates at its forward end with the recessed portion it as at it, and at its rear end is shown communicating with a longitudinally extending passage or conduit 19 (Fig. l), which curves upwardly in the handle Ii so as to be provided with an open fluid inlet or end 20. Thus it will be seen that the elongated passage l9 constitutes a pipette or reservoir in which may be carried a surplus amount of any suitable cleaning fluid or chemical, when more than a few drops are needed to .properly remove spots from material such as a garment or the like.

The bottom2i of the bowl [2 has a rough surface such as the transverse serrations or ribs 22 and the opposite sides of the bowl are likewise formed with the ribs 23 so that the spoon may function as a. scrub board or the like and coact with the cleaning fluid to remove tough spots or stains.

The ribs or serrations 22 are preferably rougher than the ribs 23 so as to provide a variety of scrubbing surfaces that may selectively be used depending upon the quality of material being cleaned. The end of the handle M may be tapered or shaped to provide a scraping surface 34.

In the modified form of the invention shown in Figures 6 and 7, a spotting spoon 2 3 is shown, similar in construction and operation to the form previously described, but with the pipette or reservoir passage I9 removed. In other words, the spoon 24 has the usual concave bowl 25 and handle 25. The upper concave surface 26 of the bowl is provided with a longitudinal extending centrally disposed channel 21 which at one end merges into the top surface of the bowl and at its other communicates with a central recess 29 adjacent tip 38. The tip 30 has a slot or discharge passage 3| that communicates with the cup 29 for discharging the cleaning fluid from the bowl 25. The bottom of the bowl 25 is formed with the rough serrated surface 32 and the sides of the bowl are similarly provided with the rough serrations 33 for assisting in removing spots or stains from heavy material. The end of the handle 26 may also be formed with a scraping edge 34.

In this form of the invention it will be observed that the spoon 24 is arranged to be dipped into a bottle or container carrying a suitable cleaning chemical so as to collect a few drops of the cleaning fluid in the channel 27 without requiring the use of eye droppers or the like.

It will be seen that when using the spotting spoon having the reservoir passage or pipette l9 (Fig. 4), a surplus supply is provided so that the amount of spotting fluid may be varied in accordance with the size of the stain or the piece of material to be cleaned. Normally, only a drop or two is required for removing stains from the material and the channel i I will collect from the glass or container 34 (Fig. 8) enough of the chemical cleaning fluid for this purpose. For such an operation the spoon 2 (Fig. 6) may be used. However, when workin on a large spot and a larger amount of the fluid chemical is required, the spoon shown in Figure 4 is particularly suitable for use, since a surplus supply may be carried in the pipette I?) which communicates through the channel 21 with the cup 29 and the discharge passage 3|.

Thus it will be seen that the spotting spoon or implement may be efficiently operated by one hand so as to remove stains from both rough and delicate materials. Additionally, the corrugated or rough surface on the bottom and sides of the bowl constitutes means for coacting with the detergent chemical to remove rough spots on heavy material and the like. The serration on the sides of the spoon may efiiciently be employed for re- 4 moving spots or stains from delicate material without danger of tearing the fabric or garment.

It will be understood that the forms of the invention shown are merely illustrative of preferred embodiments and that such changes may be made as come within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A spotting spoon having a handle and a bowl for receiving a cleaning fluid, said bowl having a tip portion provided with a longitudinal slot, the upper surface of said bowl having a longitudinally extending groove and a cup portion between said slot and said groove and communicating therewith for facilitating the discharge of the cleaning fluid from the bowl, and at least one side of the bowl having a rough surface for coacting with the cleaning fluid to remove spots from material.

2. A spotting spoon having a handle and a bowl for receiving a cleaning fluid, said bowl having a tip portion provided with a longitudinal and centrally disposed slot, the upper surface of said bowl having a longitudinally and centrally disposed extending groove and a cup portion between said slot and said groove and communicating therewith for facilitating the discharge of the cleaning fluid from the bowl, the outer sides of said bowl having rough serrated surfaces for coacting with the cleaning fluid to remove stains from the material, and said handle having an elongated reservoir passage therein provided with open upper and lower ends, said upper end arranged to receive a supply of cleaning fluid and the lower end communicating with said groove for conducting the fluid into the recessed portion and into said cup and through said slot.

No references cited. 

